the GOAT

"Hello? Is this the yoga studio?"

"Yes, that's me! What can I do for you?"

"We have a bit of an emergency and need someone to substitute teach our goat yoga class. Can you help?"

"Goat yoga?!? Why, um, yes. Yes I can."

Had I ever taught goat yoga before? Nope. Would that stop me? HELL NOPE. When someone calls you and says you get to go play with literal goats, you drop everything and run to said goats.

I walked onto Maan Farms that day, the sun shining bright in the late spring afternoon. Summer was just around the corner, and it was palpable in everyone's energy. It had been a long, dreary winter; paired with Covid isolation, everyone was ready to be out and around other people (socially distanced and with masks, of course).

After setting up my music and my yoga mat, I sat down cross legged and prepared myself for the next sixty minutes.

And that's when the goats came in.

It is quite literally impossible to be in a bad mood around baby goats. They are probably the best animals on the planet. Playful, inquisitive, friendly, and hilarious. You can turn any frown upside-down with a baby goat! Which is why they pair so well with yoga.

Yoga is thought to be a very serious practice for very serious and hyper flexible people, but it couldn't be further from the truth. Yoga is for everyone! Every body shape, every age, every ability. And yoga, while it can be serious, is also about play. It's about being in the moment, forgetting about the past and future, and simply existing. And when the present moment includes an army of baby goats? Well, life just can't get any better than that.

I'd like to say that the success of goat yoga relies on me, on the playlist I spent hours curating, the poses I planned, or the zingy one-line jokes I pepper in, but as the Goat Yoga Teacher I have to remind myself:

People aren't here for me. They're here for the goats.

And the goats are excellent at their jobs.

Naturally friendly, the goats at Maan farms are trained to interact with people. Probably because they've come to associate people with treats. The result is hyper-cuddly goats that run up to you the second you walk into the space, who climb on your back while you're in pigeon pose, and snuggle up next to you in savasana.

And, if you're super lucky, they might even pee or poo on your mat. It's like a right of initiation.

Through-out the summer months I was #blessed to do yoga with the goats every week. And every week I would look forward to it; my time to unwind with these amazing little animals while leading a class through a fun beginner's vinyasa flow. I'd watch as people, most of whom had never tried yoga before, begin hesitantly on their mats, legs shaky in their warrior two's, to trying out a crow pose because they feel that confident-- and doing it!

People leave goat yoga feeling relaxed, re-energized, and with a boost of self-worth and confidence, all thanks to some movements with their breath and some fun-loving baby goats.

In a regular yoga class the instructor is the main attraction, sitting front row and center to it all. But in goat yoga? It's all about the goats.

And that's how it should be.

I love these little furry weirdos, and am beyond grateful to spend so much time with them.

So, if you need me, I'll be with the goats.

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